NN/LM & Library of New Jersey Partnership

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Archive for the ‘Lockdown’ Category

Yesterday’s incident in the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas is a sad reminder that a violent incident can happen in your library. Remember Step 2 of the 10-steps: Protect yourself, your staff, and your patrons. Do you have procedures in place for an active shooter? If so, have you drilled your staff on those procedures lately? Click on this link, http://www.virginia.edu/emergency/plan.html#violent, to view procedures for active shooter/violent person from the University of Virginia’s Critical Incident Response Plan. Also check with your parent institution.

The University of Richmond (Virginia) was locked down yesterday after library staff at the campus library reported a suspicious person. Click here for a report of the incident from the Richmond Times Dispatch. If you click on the slide show of the incident you will see a b&w picture of the person from a library security camera.

Here’s a mashup of media reports of incidents at schools in the United States and Canada. You’ll find news stories on incidents such as bus accidents, bomb threats, intruders, shootings, and campus lockdowns.

Take the Library Disaster Readiness Test

On a sheet of paper, give yourself a tick mark for each time you answer Yes to one the 12 elements of a library at a state of disaster readiness listed below. Add up your score. Most libraries will score between 0 and 5. It is our goal to provide tools and training to create a disaster ready culture in libraries so that every library in the United States scores 10 or above.

Do you want a better score? Contact me, Dan Wilson, Coordinator for the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative, at 434-924-0193 or danwilson@virginia.edu.

1. We are committed to purchasing core print materials that may be needed by the community if power is down for an extended time or the Internet is compromised.
2. Our core online resources are housed on servers with emergency backup power.
3. We have a response station that includes items such as flashlights, first aid kit, bullhorn, plastic, and a battery operated radio.
4. We practice situation awareness reporting (What, When, and Where) before, during, and after any kind of service disruption.
5. We practice 72-hour home preparedness.
6. We regularly drill our staff on how to respond to unplanned incidents, such as tornadoes, shooter, and HAZMAT incidents, and we perform at least one evacuation drill per year.
7. We conduct at least two tabletop exercises per year. (One for planned and one for unplanned events.)
8. We conduct after-action reviews within 14 days of a service disruption.
9. We have a one-page service continuity plan that is updated at least twice per year.
10. We have a Mutual Aid Agreement with other libraries to assist us in the delivery of core services if ours are compromised.
11. We have a partnership (contract not required) with a commercial salvage and recovery company (e.g., Belfor, BMS, Munters) or a local preservationist for recovery of valuable and hard to replace materials.
12. We have worked with local law enforcement to determine best practices for sheltering-in-place and for responding to unplanned emergency situations.